Son of Song Dynasty

Chapter 303 Forced to Compromise
Everyone complained for a long time, and finally they all gasped, yes, if you dare not agree, I'm afraid you won't be able to go back to Yunzhou.

"And..." Cao Shan, disguised as a wealthy businessman, said, "People also said that this is our Cao family's last chance. That is to say, if you dare not listen, there will be no Cao family."

"Oh! I've been thinking about it for a long time! We have no choice but to accept it!"

Cao Xi closed his eyes, said these words in helplessness and pain.

The other Cao family disciples fell silent immediately.

First, in the Cao family and in Yunzhou, no one dared to shake Cao Xi's authority.

Second, in fact, everyone is very clear in their hearts that Zhao Dezhao has already spoken clearly, and the Cao family has no choice as long as they accept it.

Otherwise, it will face the two attacks of the Northern Han Dynasty and the Great Song Dynasty at the same time.Die faster that way.

Since sooner or later he was going to turn against one of them, of course he chose Beihan, who killed his own family, as his enemy.

Even if the Han people and Hanchens surrendered to the Northern Han Dynasty, they might end up like Cao Jiang one day, but they came sooner or later.

So no matter how tough Zhao Dezhao is, they can only accept it.

Two days later, a booklet filled with information about the Northern Han Dynasty was quietly sent to Liu's residence.

Starting on the third day, Zhao Dezhao's men followed Cao Xi into several other counties within the Cao family's sphere of influence in Yunzhou.

Each city has its own general, who brings two thousand well-trained soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty with him, and accepts three thousand troops from the local Cao family.

The general reorganized his armaments, and the Cao family was responsible for the military expenses.

Fortunately, Zhao Dezhao did what he said, forbidding generals to interfere with the rule of the Cao family, the Cao family was somewhat worried.

However, they have restrained themselves a lot, and they no longer dare to exploit the people like before, because they know very well that the military power is in the hands of others, and they may put a knife on their own necks at any time.

As a result, the showdown and decisive battle between the Northern Han people and the Great Song Dynasty directly led to the Caoxi family, which was originally a de facto separatist regime, officially and completely surrendered to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

To be precise, he surrendered to Song Dynasty Zhao Dezhao.

Zhao Dezhao also completely controlled Yunzhou by relying on the Great Song Army stationed in each city.

Now his territory includes all of Dasong, Shuiluocheng, and Yunzhou, as well as part of Qingzhou and part of Yuzhou.

Although the population is not very large, it has become the largest territory in China in terms of area, which is only comparable to Xiliang, which is more sparsely populated.

This is not over yet, Zhao Dezhao transferred [-] troops from Song Dynasty and Shuiluo City by occupying Yunzhou.It is used to supplement the gap in the garrison of Yunzhou.

Next, it will be the battle to destroy the Northern Han Dynasty.

The siege cannons have been built and the gunpowder materials are in place, which means that there is no city that the Song Army cannot capture.

At the same time, the Northern Han people are also preparing for the war with the Han Dynasty. This is also the best moment for the Northern Han Dynasty. Whether they can go north to occupy more land and enslave more people depends on the ability of this war. No win.

Not long after Cao Xi handed in the materials Zhao Dezhao asked for, he raised another batch of sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, etc. Although not as many as last time, it was still quite a lot.

In order to get close to Zhao Dezhao and express his loyalty, Cao Xi went out in person again and sent the materials to Zhao Dezhao.

At this time, Zhao Dezhao was still on the front line in Hepu, because the gunpowder for the cannon had been prepared, and he was doing the final stage of the experiment.

Hepu City is not big, but Zhao Dezhao is the leader of the Song Dynasty, so there are still 3000 troops stationed here.

This time the following generals are Shi Yuanliang and Wei Wenchang.

Cao Xi entered the city and came to see Zhao Dezhao in person.

The two chatted for a while.

Daohe suddenly rushed in and said, "Your Highness! A group of barbarians came from outside the city. They openly looked over the city, and the uniforms seemed to be the Northern Han army."

After speaking, he glared at Cao Xi angrily.

Cao Xi was shocked, why was he so unlucky, and rushed to curry favor with Zhao Dezhao.Unexpectedly, there was actually a group of Northern Han troops following behind.

Judging by Daohe's look and expression, he probably regarded himself as an accomplice in luring thieves into the country.

"Oh?" Zhao Dezhao also glanced at Cao Xi with a strange expression.

"The Northern Han army is outside the city? It's such a coincidence, did the old lady come across it when he came?"

Cao Xi was covered in cold sweat and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Your Highness! I have wronged you! I didn't even know that there were Northern Han troops behind me. If we conspired with each other, wouldn't we be sent to death now?"

Zhao Dezhao smiled and personally pulled him up.

"That's right, if you entered the city and found me here, and then left the city immediately, it would be a conspiracy, but now that the Northern Han army is here, but you haven't left, it's obviously not a pre-negotiated trap."

Cao Xi wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.

Dao He suddenly said, "Those Northern Han barbarians have always had trouble with their brains. It is possible that they delayed the time and came out early. There is another possibility. They just want to know whether His Highness is in Hepu, a small frontline town, and get accurate information. In the end, it is possible to ignore Cao Xi’s life and death.”

"Ah! My God! It's not like this!" Cao Xi was so frightened that he fell to his knees again and shouted to the sky.

Zhao Dezhao smiled slightly and pulled him up again.Continue to ask Daohe, "How many people are there, and who is the leading general?"

Dao He shook his head, "I don't even know. The Northern Han Army doesn't have a regular flag, so it's hard to tell who is leading the army. As for the number of enemy troops, we won't have exact information until later."

Zhao Dezhao said, "Let's go out to the tower to see the situation."

The three of them went out to mount their horses and came to the tower of the main gate of the county town to take a closer look.

Shi Yuanliang was already at the top of the city at this time, and when he saw Zhao Dezhao coming in person, he quickly bowed to salute. "Your Highness!"

"How many people are there in the enemy army? Who is leading the team?"

"His Royal Highness! The enemy army has about 3000 to [-] people. They don't have a flag, and they don't know who is leading the team. Moreover, these Northern Han troops are a little strange. They are all looking up at the city, and they have no intention of attacking the city immediately."

"Hmph! They are confirming whether His Highness is in the city or not." Dao He still squinted at Cao Xi and snorted heavily.

Cao Xi was trembling all over, his face was ashen.

Zhao Dezhao smiled and said, "General Wen Chang and General Yinping said that the old scholar and the Northern Han people conspired to come to see if I was here, and if I was there, they would attack the city. Do you think so?"

Shi Yuanliang took a few glances at Cao Xi, and saw that he was trembling all over, frightened, with contempt on his face.Shaking his head, he said, "I don't think that's the case. This scholar prefect, even if he wants to, he definitely doesn't have the guts."

Zhao Dezhao continued to laugh and said, "General Daohe said that the barbarians of the Northern Han Dynasty didn't know how to count the time, so they dispatched early. Besides, they didn't care about the life and death of the prefect at all. It doesn't matter whether he leaves the city or not. As long as I am here, that's enough." .”

Shi Yuanliang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head again, "It's still the same reason. People in the Northern Han Dynasty don't care about the prefect, they only care about the presence or absence of His Highness. But when it comes to the prefect, it's just the opposite. He doesn't care whether His Highness is there or not. He cares about whether he can be safe. Therefore, even if someone forces him to do this business, he will not do it. "

Cao Xi wiped the sweat off his brow, looked at Shi Yuanliang with admiration and gratitude on his face.

After hearing Shi Yuanliang's words, Daohe was also taken aback, thinking it made sense, and finally looked at Cao Xi with less hostility.

(End of this chapter)